I have 3 pear trees that are at least 7 years old. They have not yielded any fruit yet. I was just needing to know what I should do to get them to propagate so they will have fruit. The trees are very healthy and are growing well.[/color]

Tue Sep 27, 2005 11:56 am

Dubyadee

Joined: Wed Mar 23, 2005 5:24 pmPosts: 126Location: Puyallup, WA

Several things could be preventing your pear trees from fruiting:
1. No cross pollination source - if all three trees are the same variety you need to plant or graft in a pollinator. Charts of compatible pollinators are available on the internet and in some nursery catalogs.
2. Freeze during bloom - this will kill the blossoms
3. Non-Fruiting variety - do you have a flowering pear? Does your pear bloom?
4. Branch angle - To help promote fruit production it may be necessary to tie or weight the branches to a level to slightly inclined position. This needs to be done in May for the following year's fruit production.

Thu Sep 29, 2005 12:24 pm

Lenie41

Joined: Tue Sep 27, 2005 11:49 amPosts: 3Location: Pennsylvania

Dubyadee, Thank you for responding and for your information. I am very new at this and can use all the help I can get. I think you are right about not having a cross pollination source. I would like to plant a tree that is one but I have no idea what type of a pear tree I have. Is there a place on the internet that I could determine the type? How do you graft in a pollinator? Sorry for sounding so stupid on this, I just have no experience with fruit trees at all. I appreaciate anything anyone will teach me or send me in the direction to learn. Thanks so much again!

Tue Oct 04, 2005 10:20 am

lonrom

Joined: Wed Sep 08, 2004 8:14 pmPosts: 197Location: Aurora, Oregon

Come to the Fall Fruit Show Oct. 15 and 16 to learn what you need in the way of pollinator varieties, get information on how to graft, etc. You might also visit http://www.nafex.org

For best result pick one that overlaps with your tree's bloom time. It will be difficult to know what cultivar (cultivated variety) of pear tree you have if it has never produced fruit. In that case you might want to pick two different pollinators to graft into your tree.

If your yard space is limited (you don't want to plant additional trees) and your trees have several large scaffold limbs, you might consider cutting off a limb about 1 1/2 to 2 feet from the tree's center and top grafting a new cultivar into each cut limb with cleft grafts. This will make a Fruit Cocktail tree producing different varieties. Select early and late maturing varieties so you can extend your harvest. You can also select a variety that stores well so you can put some into your refrigerator to keep through December. Also, try to select those with resistance to diseases typical to your area. Don't fall into the same trap that most home orchard growers do by planting the varieties that you are familiar seeing at the grocery store, these are often not grown locally and require different climates (growing seasons), special ripening procedures, and lots of pest and disease management.

Pear grafts seem to be fairly easy to obtain success, (I have had good luck anyway, compared to my efforts on peaches and cherries). Bulletin 818 from the University of Georgia has good instructions and photos on how to perform Bud, Cleft, Whip, Bark, and Notch grafts.
http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/B818.htm

Best results are obtained when you use dormant scion wood obtained in mid-winter and grafted to your trees just as they come out of dormancy in the spring. I think cleft grafts have a better than average suscess because the cut limb is dead-headed and the grafts get a lot of nutrition. I use rubber electrical tape to wrap the grafts (not the cheap vinyl stuff). Rubber tape will deteriorate during the summer preventing girdling of the graft whereas the vinyl tape needs to be cut after a couple months. Use short pieces of scion wood to reduce the transpiration losses. Seal the cut ends and any open/unwrapped joints with grafting compound (asphalt).

Mon Oct 10, 2005 11:57 am

Lenie41

Joined: Tue Sep 27, 2005 11:49 amPosts: 3Location: Pennsylvania

Thank you again Dubyadee, this is very helpful. I think I am begging to understand what I need to do to get those pears blooming. I can hardly wait to have some fruit on those trees to make some goodies.

I am not sure about the European variety though. They were purchased in the USA and planted here. I will have to research that one.

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